Sourcing black powder?

[2in1evtime]

I used to buy all my black powder from grafs in the past, they have quite the assortment now but it is going fast!!!!

Black Powder & Cannon Fuse - Powders & Primers - Graf & Sons

www.grafs.com

 

[WillH]

Where do you guys find black powder do any stores keep it in stock (nwi) all I can find is smokeless. Anywhere good to order it online?

Sportsman's Warehouse in Fort Wayne tends to keep pretty well in stock

 

[Mgderf]

I was asked how I make Holy Black. I am happy to share.

I start with spectracide stump remover, msds on it will tell you its 99.9% potassium nitrate.

Next ingredient is Sulfur from the garden , from... garden supply. The kind I use has i think 5% bentonite clay in it, which I have found helps as a binder.

The final ingredient is charcoal. Make this yourself, they say a particular willow is the best, but I do not have access to that. I go to the pet store and get red cedar shavings ( pet bedding). I take an old paint can and put a hole in the lid with a nail, then pack it full of cedar shavings. Then tightly put the lid on and place it in a fire. you can watch the smoke coming out of the hole change colors as it works, when it stops off gassing, remove it from the fire and plug / cover the hole to prevent oxygen intake, and let it cool.

You will need each ingredient to be powdered so a ball mill, rock crusher, blender you want the finest particles you can manage.

Then I use a ball mill contraption I made with lead balls (non sparking) in it to mix. I use a 4" pvc section with SLIP ON CAPS, you NEED to have it this way so if something bad happens it blows the cap off and doesnt over pressure. I mix for about 2 hrs or so.

When I first started I did burn tests at various stages and filmed the results.



This is the burn test for just mixing and screening the ingredients. you can see sloooow burn and incomplete burn with heavy white residues.

Test 2

Hand milled in morter and pestle

www.youtube.com

This was the burn test after I used a mortar and pestle to more intimatley mix the ingredients. Note the better burn rate, much closer to the "hollywood stuff" we see in film. Still incomplete burns thoughs.

Test 2

Hand milled in morter and pestle

www.youtube.com

The third test was after 1 hour of ball milling. You can easily see the difference, finally gettin proper.

After ball milling you want to wet the mixture and make a "mud ball" about the size of your fist. Then I rub it over a stretched out window screen to form granules and let it dry. You can use classifier screens to get the size granules you want for f, ff, fff, ffff and re-mud and repeat for anything to small.

Test 4

Larger pieces after granulation screening.

www.youtube.com

This is the 4th test, after granulation and done on paper. You can see it it quite fast.



Finally, how does it shoot! That is my test firing with the powder I made, and me homemade percussion caps.


EDIT : not sure why the middle videos didnt parse, links should still be good though

I'd like to try this but I have a question.
Can I substitute true coal for the charcoal?

 

[Kurr]

I'd like to try this but I have a question.
Can I substitute true coal for the charcoal?

No, that would not work at all. If your not comfortable making real charcoal you can substitute something like:


That is the charcoal i used when starting blacksmithing you just have to grind it into powder. Your looking for the Carbon content and charcoal is a rock, and conatins MANY volatiles and chemicals, moisture etc. Coal isnt really any good in the fire till coked. Real charcoal is what you want.

 

[Pepi]

Isn't it illegal to make black power?

 

[Mgderf]

Isn't it illegal to make black power?

I hope not.

 

[Pepi]

I hope not.

LOL

Is it illegal to make gunpowder in the US?

Under federal explosives law, it is illegal to manufacture, store, distribute, receive or transport explosive materials without a federal explosives license or permit (FEL/FEP).

 

[Kurr]

When is a manufacturer’s license required? | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A manufacturer’s license is required by persons engaged in the business of manufacturing explosive materials for sale, distribution, or for their own business use. For example, persons engaged in the business of providing a blasting service using explosives of their own manufacture would be...

www.atf.gov

A manufacturer’s license is required by persons engaged in the business of manufacturing explosive materials for sale, distribution, or for their own business use. For example, persons engaged in the business of providing a blasting service using explosives of their own manufacture would be required to have a manufacturer’s license. Persons who manufacture explosives for their personal, non-business use are not required to have a manufacturer’s license. However, no person may ship, transport, cause to be transported, or receive explosive materials unless such person holds a license or permit. [27 CFR 555.11: definition of “manufacturer”, 555.41(b)] A separate manufacturer’s license is not required by a licensed manufacturer for the purpose of on-site manufacture, for example, mixing binary explosives or making blasting agents at a quarry or other job site. It is not necessary for a licensed manufacturer to also obtain a dealer’s license or permit to engage in business on his or her licensed premises as a dealer in explosive materials (see also Question 52 and Question 53) [27 CFR 555.11: definition of "manufacturer", 555.41(b)(2)]

Also its being used as a propellant, not an explosive.

 

[Remington 90T]

Our town does a reenactment for the Fourth of July -the City bought and paid for the powderfor the group - The group always had leftovers we could buy from them. Shipping otherwise is a problem and expense.

 

[Duce]

If you shoot muzzle loaders its worth going to Friendship during the National. I used to go to the spring shoot. By parts for the next project and buy powder. It's been twenty years since I went. Don't know how they do it now but, then they limited you to ten pounds of powder. So drove home with it several times. Check their website, walking the primitive camp is worth the admission <><Duce

 

[Magyars]

If you shoot muzzle loaders its worth going to Friendship during the National. I used to go to the spring shoot. By parts for the next project and buy powder. It's been twenty years since I went. Don't know how they do it now but, then they limited you to ten pounds of powder. So drove home with it several times. Check their website, walking the primitive camp is worth the admission <><Duce

Now you need to be a NMLRA member to buy Black powder at Friendship

 

[cg21]

Now you need to be a NMLRA member to buy Black powder at Friendship

I’m a member and couldn’t figure it out lol didn’t try very hard though

 

[Floivanus]

Grafs is showing in stock Schuetzen black powder, otherwise if you’re looking for a brick and mortar

Find a Distributor - Schuetzen Powder

Not a whole lot of places around with it. And not a lot of choices out there either

 

[msuspartan]

Black Powder & Cannon Fuse - Powders & Primers - Graf & Sons

www.grafs.com

Graf and Sons has Black Powder in stock now.

$16.60-$19.80 per lb

Have you ever used the Graf brand powder? Good, bad, in-between and how compared to Goex which is all I have ever used. Thoughts or Swiss or Schuetzen??

 

[DadSmith]

Have you ever used the Graf brand powder? Good, bad, in-between and how compared to Goex which is all I have ever used. Thoughts or Swiss or Schuetzen??

Manufactured for Graf & Sons by Wano Schwarzpulver GmbH, Imported by Schuetzen Powder LLC.

 

[Remington 90T]

Powder Vally has 2F and 3F Schuetzen Black in stock.

What luck are you having with Schuetzen black powder? years ago we had Goex and Elephant brand .Big difference between the two in competitive shooting. In 1999 Elephant sold out to Schuetzen. Just wondering if they improved their powder from the old Elephant label?

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Schuetzen is a lot better. Some folks like Schuetzen and swiss better than goex. I think they're pretty comparable.

 

[Creedmoor]

What luck are you having with Schuetzen black powder? years ago we had Goex and Elephant brand .Big difference between the two in competitive shooting. In 1999 Elephant sold out to Schuetzen. Just wondering if they improved their powder from the old Elephant label?

I have burned a few lbs of 2F and 3f and its looks promising so far. I have maybe 30lbs of Goex Cartridge left and when I'm down to a few lbs. I will invest time to really see what's the next brand I will buy.

 

[Remington 90T]

Elephant was the only one, back in the day, that had 5F for flinters. I didn't see Schuetzen offer that? Goex has been my go-to powder for 50 years for patch and ball competition -Far more uniform when you have to volume measure verses scaling loads.

 

[bobjones223]

I was asked how I make Holy Black. I am happy to share.

I start with spectracide stump remover, msds on it will tell you its 99.9% potassium nitrate.

Next ingredient is Sulfur from the garden , from... garden supply. The kind I use has i think 5% bentonite clay in it, which I have found helps as a binder.

The final ingredient is charcoal. Make this yourself, they say a particular willow is the best, but I do not have access to that. I go to the pet store and get red cedar shavings ( pet bedding). I take an old paint can and put a hole in the lid with a nail, then pack it full of cedar shavings. Then tightly put the lid on and place it in a fire. you can watch the smoke coming out of the hole change colors as it works, when it stops off gassing, remove it from the fire and plug / cover the hole to prevent oxygen intake, and let it cool.

You will need each ingredient to be powdered so a ball mill, rock crusher, blender you want the finest particles you can manage.

Then I use a ball mill contraption I made with lead balls (non sparking) in it to mix. I use a 4" pvc section with SLIP ON CAPS, you NEED to have it this way so if something bad happens it blows the cap off and doesnt over pressure. I mix for about 2 hrs or so.

When I first started I did burn tests at various stages and filmed the results.



This is the burn test for just mixing and screening the ingredients. you can see sloooow burn and incomplete burn with heavy white residues.

Test 2

Hand milled in morter and pestle

www.youtube.com

This was the burn test after I used a mortar and pestle to more intimatley mix the ingredients. Note the better burn rate, much closer to the "hollywood stuff" we see in film. Still incomplete burns thoughs.

Test 2

Hand milled in morter and pestle

www.youtube.com

The third test was after 1 hour of ball milling. You can easily see the difference, finally gettin proper.

After ball milling you want to wet the mixture and make a "mud ball" about the size of your fist. Then I rub it over a stretched out window screen to form granules and let it dry. You can use classifier screens to get the size granules you want for f, ff, fff, ffff and re-mud and repeat for anything to small.

Test 4

Larger pieces after granulation screening.

www.youtube.com

This is the 4th test, after granulation and done on paper. You can see it it quite fast.



Finally, how does it shoot! That is my test firing with the powder I made, and me homemade percussion caps.


EDIT : not sure why the middle videos didnt parse, links should still be good though

Mix ratios?